Son of Anger and Light
by EmrysTheMerlin
Summary: Druin Angorson never believed he was different but on his 18th birthday he discovered the in his quest for answers he finds himself on Midgaurd and who should be the first person he runs into but Reilly Stark.But can these two people from two different worlds set aside their differences long enough to help those who need them most? Avengers Academy Book 3
1. Reasons For Adventure

**Authors Note: THIS IS THE THIRD IN THE SERIES! PLEASE READ ****_Children of Iron and Patience_**** AND ****_Midnight in Midtown_**** FIRST! I wanted to call this Midgaurds Mysteries but I changed my mind. So instead my I present ****_Son of Anger and Light_**. **I own nothing. Please review. **

1. Reasons for Adventure

Druin Angorson never knew his mother. He was the second son of Angor Setranson. He knew that Gilina Forsmitdaughter was not his mother but he never questioned his father. He looked up to his older brother, Tharins and guided his two younger brothers Helfast and Videnit. His life was a good one, or so he thought. But the day he reached maturity his father took him aside.

" My son, thou are my second born, second in line to lead this clan, second in line to lead the warriors of Vanihime, I know you are a bright lad. You hath known for many years that thou mother is not truly thy mother. Now you are no longer a child. Now you may know the truth. Thy mother was a mortal, from the realm of Midgaurd. She was a lady of the fairest beauty."

Druin was stunned. He sat down hard on the fallen tree that lay behind him. He had no idea that he was less than his brothers or father. For a moment he felt resentment rise into his heart. Since Loki's fall from grace twenty two years ago most had learned of his true parentage. Was he like Loki? His father seemed to read his mind he spoke.

"You are and always will be my son. You are nothing like the traitor and never shall you be. I tell you this only so you may know the truth of thy birth. Your next course of action is yours alone my son. Whatever your choice is I shall support you in whatever you do." Druin made his choice there. He had to find his mother. He had to go to Midgaurd.

Reilly Stark was not expecting this day to be unusual. Well any more than it normally was. She had spent near a month working with her brother and Peter Parker to remodel the old museum into their headquarters. After nearly a week of finding Peter sitting on the ceiling to fix the light she stopped finding things unusual. They were nearly finished and soon they could establish their headquarters officially.

So when a beam of light blasted a hole through the roof and knocked her flat on her ass she was a little more than surprised. It was huge and the color of a rainbow. She swore loudly and colorfully as she covered her eyes with her arm.

"What the hell!?" Peter called out from the door as clouds gathered and purple lightning flashed. He ran and was thrown back into a wall and Phil called out to his sister who was closest to the light. He couldn't see his sister, but he heard her call out.

"ALICI Armor protocol 24! Main hall! Now!" He could barely hear the whirring of the Armory reaching out to his sister, covering her in the armor that had saved so many already. Phil too was thrown back into a wall and grunted in pain as he hit. He heard a metallic cry of rage as pain seemed to split his scull in two.

Reilly's screen came online just in time for her to see her brother hit the opposite wall. He had no armor, no powers to protect himself with. He grunted as he hit. She cried out in anger. This was no natural storm. She would find the source and she would hurt it, badly.

The storm vanished as fast as it had appeared and in front of Reilly, who was now fully clad in the Midnight armor, she saw a boy. Normally she would have found him rather attractive. He was the kind of boy she never ran into, scruffy and rugged. Most boys she met were clean cut and nerdy. This one was obviously a hunter, and a warrior. His hair was a deep tan with caramel highlights that were so natural but his eyes were unusual, silver and intense.

He would be pretty, even handsome if he wasn't the cause of that storm. He was the one who hurt Phil. He was going down.


	2. Swords and Sinking Spiders

**Authors Note: Yeah it's point break all over again. But this time the Stark has a reason to attack. Lol! Anyway, I still own nothing. Please review. **

2. Swords and Sinking Spiders

The last thing Druin expected to see on arriving on Midgaurd was a lady made of metal. He had heard rumors of there being a man of Iron but a lady was unexpected. As was her knocking him on his ass with a beam of light from her hand. Her voice was wrong to his ears as it rang across the ruined grand hall of a castle the Bifrost had set him down in.

"Hey! You come in here and break my stuff and hurt my family! You looking for a beat down cause I'm happy to oblige!" The metallic edge of the metal maidens voice was like a dwarfs hammer on a new forged sword.

"Metal Maiden I have no quarrel with you." He really had no quarrel but she apparently did. Druin's hunter instincts told him there were two others in the room. One lay on the floor to his left, a man of maybe eighteen years, his own age. The other was a younger boy of maybe fifteen, he pulled on a red mask and wore a costume that made him look like something out of Niflehime. He didn't like this creature that sat on the wall without holding onto anything.

"Yeah well you broke my house. I have a quarrel with you!" She blasted him again and he just managed to duck the light. Dark magic, it had to be.

"If it is a lesson you wish I shall be more than pleased to teach you. I take no pleasure in hitting a maiden but if she insists then I will be willing to dance your way." He drew his sword and lunged. He landed on top of her and she struggled. He pinned her hands down with his.

"I know not what you think you are but I am stronger than any maiden could ever be. Now stop fighting. I have no quarrel with you! Do not change that." She grunted and bunched under him. Both her legs connected with his torso and he shouted as the bottom of her feet heated and blasted him back through the hole he had arrived through.

Reilly Stark blasted the strange man through the brand new hole in her ceiling. Peter had changed into Spiderman and was checking on Phil.

"He's ok, mild concussion at worst." He said looking up at her. She lifted her faceplate and Peter saw the relief on her face then her gaze hardened and she shut it again.

"Well I'm going to give that storming ass a more than concussion!" She blasted back off and out through the hole. Peter shook Phil.

"Come on buddy, wake up. Your sister is gonna go crazy killer on some magical blonde if you don't!" Phil stirred.

"Ow. That hurt."

"Come on we gotta go stop Reilly before she ends up starting some kind of inter dimensional war."

"What?"

"I'll explain on the way there."


	3. When Worlds Collide

** Authors Note: So fight time! I still own nothing. Please review.**

3. When Worlds Collide 

Midnight flew through the hole in the roof and was tackled across the roof by the mysterious man. Now that she got a good look at him she noticed his ears. They were pointed and curved up slightly at the tips. Remembering her training with Captain America she used his own weight to lever herself on top of him. She pinned both his hands down with hers.

Druin struggled under the metal maiden. This was humiliating, he was being bested by a woman.

"What are you!?" No mere mortal was this strong.

"My name is Midnight and you just made my list buddy. Not a place you want to be!" Druin scoffed and rolled so he was on top of her again.

"I know not of what list you speak, but you are no mere mortal, Lady Midnight." She brought her knee up forcefully and he rolled off her with a groan.

"Who said I was a lady!" Druin retrieved his sword from where it had landed when she had first kicked him onto the roof. He twirled it.

"I hath attempted to be civil, yet you hath proven to be incapable of civil behavior. I shall rid Midgaurd of thy presence!"

"Bring it Pointy!" Druin lunged at Midnight who dodged into the air. The pointy comment had angered him more than he cared to admit. She dropped back to the roof as he swung again. Landing in a crouch she spun on her hands and tripped him with a blow to his ankle from her armored shin. She stepped on his chest with one armor clad foot. She kicked his sword out of his hand with her other foot.

"Give up yet Shorty?" He growled.

"Never will I be bested by a maiden!" He attempted to strike out at her with his left hand but found it stuck to the roof by a length of sticky rope. The red and blue clad boy now stood on the roof with the only mortal seeming one there. He was a few inches shorter than the metal maiden with short rust colored hair and eyes the color of the sky.

"Stay down dude, trust me. Midnight isn't someone you want as an enemy." The boy with the spider on his chest commented.

"I shall not be bested by your minion either Midnight!" Druin yanked up a piece of the roof with his wrist. Taking all three by surprise he grabbed Midnight by her foot and threw her off the edge of the roof. He darted forward and snatched the Spider demon up tossing him in the same direction. He had a better angle this time and heard a satisfying splash. The mortal boy raised his fists.

"I have no quarrel with you mortal. Stand aside."

"You attacked my family! I count that as a quarrel." Before Druin could respond he heard the metal maiden call out.

"Phil! Get down!" The boy dropped to the roof and Druin found himself flying against his will. He struggled until he realized he was hanging by his ankle above a vast river. He had enough sense to freeze.

Peter was not a strong swimmer, hadn't been before the spider bite but he was even worse now. When he landed in the Hudson River he was a little more than panicked. He saw Midnight zoom back over to Academy, as they had taken to calling it, then back out over the river holding the blonde boy by his ankle.

"_Miss?"_

"Not now ALICI."

_"Miss. It appears Spiderman is drowning."_

"What! Where?" Reilly's readout screen zoomed in on a red and blue clad figure struggling in the water beneath her. She swore and dove, hauling Pointy with her. Grabbing Peter by his collar she dragged him out of the water.

"Seriously Spidey, you need to learn how to swim." He lifted the bottom of his mask, revealing his nose and mouth. He spat water and grinned.

"Spiders are not notorious for being able to swim you know."


	4. Name Day Parties

**Authors Note: I am writing this from an undisclosed location. After much deliberation among my friends and I we have decided which Avengers we are. I am the Wasp; the others are Bruce Banner, Thor, and the Black Widow respectfully. I do not own anything, however I have just acquired a book copy writed 1902 on Norse Mythology. So my nine realms may be a bit off from the Marvel ones. I haven't started reading that yet though… Anyway on with the story.**

4. Name Day Parties

It was about when Reilly was thinking of dropping the pointy eared blonde in the Hudson River and leaving him there when the bolt of lightning crossed the clear blue sky. She looked up at it and saw who she expected. Thor the Thunderer was flying toward them, swinging Mjolnir to help keep him aloft. He looked slightly confused by the sight before him. The dangling elf called to him.

"Thor, mighty thunderer and slayer of frost giants! I beg your assistance." He looked over the three teen heroes and laughed.

"Warrior son of Vanihime, you seem to have made thyself misunderstood. Perhaps we could convene on solid ground and discuss this." Midnight looked between the elf, who had blown a hole in her roof and the man who had helped to raise her.

"You know this clown?" Thor nodded and Midnight followed him to the front yard of the mansion. Midnight dropped Druin a little harder than she would have anyone else. She set Spidey on his feet. Druin straightened his breaches and looked affronted at the purple and silver metal woman in front of him. Thor ushered them inside.

"Druin Angorson warrior elf of Vanihime, may I introduce the Man of Spiders and the Lady Midnight. Or as others know her Reilly Stark, daughter of the Man of Iron." Reilly removed her helmet and Druin was shocked to see a mortal girl of a few more years than he. She, like the mortal boy he had met on the rooftop, had rust colored red hair. In fact the two mortals were almost identical. The eyes were what set them apart. While the one called Phil had eyes as blue as the sky, she had eyes the color of an ancient oak tree. Eyes almost the color of the world's tree itself. The boy from before, the one in red and blue waved from a bit farther back. Reilly looked angry.

"You blew a hole in my roof. Care to explain how that's a misunderstanding Thor?" Thor looked over at Druin who bowed slightly then explained.

"My apologies Lady Stark, the Bifrost is unpredictable. I had no way of knowing where I would land, I meant no harm to you or your fortress." She didn't back down but Thor clapped them both on their backs, almost launching them at each other.

"Wondrous! Now Lady Reilly, your father has made a request of me. He wishes me to remind you and you brother Phil that thy name day is next week and that he and your mother the Lady Pepper wish to celebrate." Reilly sighed. The Man of Spiders scratched his head.

"No offence Thor but you've been living on and off Earth for like twenty years now. How come you haven't picked up a modern speech pattern?" Peter was honestly just curious.

"Man of Spiders, if I spoke as if I were a mortal then I would no longer be who I am. Just as if you lost your ability to cling to walls." Peter nodded, it didn't make a lot of sense but if Thor was happy then he wouldn't complain.

"Dad tried to teach him 'mortal English' once. It didn't go well." Phil said stepping into the room. He eyed the elf suspiciously but nodded to Thor.

"Good to see you again Thor."

"Tis pleasant to see you as well Phil, son of Stark!" He pulled Phil into a bone crushing hug then released him with a large grin on his face.

"Oh how foolish of me! I have news to share with all of you! I am to be a father! My Lady Jane is with child!" That was when Reilly broke her tough girl face. She beamed and bounced, still in her armor.

"That's great Thor! I'm so happy for you!" Then she ran an armored hand through her hair and sighed.

"And I'm sorry for beating you up, Druin right? But in my defense it looked like you attacked first. But Thor you said the Bifrost Bridge connected to earth in Arizona." He nodded.

"The bridge from Asgaurd to Midgaurd connects in the land called Arizona; however Druin does not hail from Asgaurd. He hails from Vanihime." Druin's mood dropped remembering the conversation with his father.

"Thor, I must beg your assistance on a private matter." Thor glanced at Reilly who threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Fine whatever! It's my house but fine have your private talk in my living room! I'll be in my armory." She stomped off, leaving sizable footprints in the floor. Phil and the Man of Spiders followed her.

Druin explained the circumstances of his birth to the thunder god and was met with sympathy and an offer of help.

"Young Druin, I cannot claim to know much about Midgaurd, despite my twenty years here I have gained little knowledge. But do not give up hope; I have made many a friend here who will be of great assistance to you."

"You have my gratitude Thor. I know not what I would have done had you not offered your assistance." He smiled and Thor patted him on the back.

The three teens reached the lab and Reilly stepped into one of the Armor containers which began to remove her armor. Peter pulled off his mask and opened a drawer which held a few extra sets of clothes for him.

"What the heck is a name day?" Reilly remained in thought as the machine whirred around her. Phil sighed and answered.

"It's the Asgaurdian term for birthday." Peter almost dropped his shirt.

"It's your birthday next week?" Both nodded, as twins they shared almost everything including their birthday.

"We'll be nineteen." They chorused. Peter still hadn't gotten used to their seemingly psychic connection. No one could explain it, and as neither had the X gene it wasn't a mutation. Reilly stepped out of her machine which assembled the armor.

"So Peter you said I could take a look at you, to see where your power comes from?" Peter had reluctantly agreed to this two weeks ago when she had found him barefoot on the ceiling after weeks of him wearing shoes on them. She had complained about scuff marks near the light fixtures. She turned to him with a sinister smile.


	5. Divide and Think

**Authors Note: So this one is the members really thinking about the team. So you'll see characters you know and characters you don't. I may throw in cameos from the X men, referenced in the last chapter but I don't know yet. I still own nothing.**

5. Divide and Think

_Spiderman_

Several hours and about a pint of blood later Peter made his excuses and left the mansion. He caught the bus back up to midtown and paused. Pulling out his phone he speed dialed her number fingers crossed that she would answer.

"Hello, Mary Jane speaking." Peter grinned.

"MJ! Hey it's Peter!"

"Hey Pete what's up?"

"Well I need your help. See I'm having a shopping problem, there's this thing..."

"Say no more. I'm on my way. Meet me at the shopping center on Central ok?"

"Thanks M.J. I owe you one." He grinned and they hung up. He strolled down the street toward the shops. As one often does when walking by ones self Peter began to think. The past month or so had been odd to say the least. Not only had he learned quite a few things about household maintenance he had also learned a lot more than he had bargained for about his new team mates.

Reilly truly was an eccentric at heart. She was brilliant when pressed but seemed a little closed off and well overworked. In the short time he had known her so far she had done so much including fabricating three more suits. Add to that her constant tinkering with her bike, with which she was never satisfied as apparently it still touched the ground, her work on what she called the scaly problem, Peter knew she was talking about Dr. Conners who had relapsed and was in SHEILD custody, and her work on the genetic structure of the Living Laser. Peter was pretty sure she barely slept. He thought Phil knew but he was something entirely different to his sister.

While Reilly was spontaneous and unpredictable to a fault Phil was organized to the last minute. He preferred to know things ahead of time and have time to plan and prepare. He was the only one of the three of them who was actually on time for anything. He enjoyed helping people get organized and do their paperwork. Part of the reason the twins made such a great team was because they balanced each other.

When Reilly would go into her lab and start breaking things for no apparent reason other than she couldn't find what she was looking for Phil was there to calm her down. It had been Phil's foresight to add the extendable armory to the mansion. Sure it had taken the three of them an extra week and several sledge hammers to gut the floor so the machinery could move freely but it was a brilliant plan. Phil was the glue that held his sister together and got her out of her lab. But Peter was starting to wonder where he fit in to this dynamic. He felt a little like a third wheel. And what was going to happen with this new guy?

He reached the shops and waved at the red head who was waiting for him.

_Phil Stark_

Phil sat in his office at Stark Tower going over some of Reilly's paperwork. She was amazing with numbers but she wasn't so good with paper. She claimed she could remember the expense reports, she just chose not to.

He didn't really mind though. He was different, which wasn't a bad thing. He could do a lot with machines but he chose not to. He tinkered from time to time and helped with the armor but aside from that he didn't have anything he really needed so he didn't make it. He did most of the managing for the twins division of Stark Industries.

Their mother and father had agreed to let them help with the company almost three years ago when Phil had corrected his father's math on a yearly tax report and saved the company a substantial amount of money and an audit from the IRS. But Reilly wasn't that interested in running the company. A pretty brunette placed a cup of black coffee on Phil's desk. He grinned and thanked her.

"Thanks Hope." She winked.

"Can't have you falling asleep on the reports can we Mr. Stark?" She joked. She left and Phil looked after her. She was his assistant, hired by his mother last year after the sixth time he had fallen asleep at his desk in the middle of the night. She was a sweetheart who kept the coffee hot and broke up the normal work day with conversation. Reilly would have none of her but Phil thought she was worth keeping around.

If he was honest with himself he would admit that he was worried about her. She was working too hard. She had taken to saying she was sleeping at the mansion but when he had ALICI check on her in the middle of the night when he woke up worried she was almost always working. She had always been one for having many projects at once but once she picked one to focus on the others were forgotten about. Never had she kept focus on six things like this at once.

He tried to get her to talk to him but she would dodge the subject or simply crank up her music till she almost shattered the windows. She needed to talk to someone and Phil knew of only one person who could get her to open up. He hit his buzzer and the intercom beeped.

'Yes Mr. Stark?' Hope's voice rang into his office.

"I need to make a call Hope; can you get me James Rhodes number? I have one but I'm not sure it's the right one."

'Right away sir.'

_Reilly Stark_

She was busy. She told herself she liked it that way as she swiveled her chair to face a new screen. She pulled up the live feed from the SHEILD prison, the Vault held high tech villains and their gear. At the moment her patient, she may not have her doctorate yet but she was thinking about it, was lying in his cell. It was made entirely out of the metal she had designed to hold energy which was lucky because he was shedding it like a downed power line.

That wasn't good. But the good news was she'd figured out a solution. It was actually pretty simple once she figured out how the Laser had gotten his powers in the first place. He had gotten hold of a piece of faulty _experimental_ Stark tech designed by her grandfather; it had altered his base genetic code saturating every cell of his body with energy. She just had to level him out.

"ALICI."

"_Ye Miss?"_

"Get me Nick Fury. Not Coulson, I want Fury. Tell him I have a possible cure for Arthur Parks."

"_Aye Miss."_ Reilly folded her hands behind her head staring at her contraption. It was basically an energy vacuum designed to level anything to a manageable level. It had worked on the plant she had used the tech that had changed the Laser on. She would need to test it on a sample from him first before she would try it on him but she hoped it worked.

She rubbed her eyes as ALICI made the call. She hadn't been sleeping. The nightmares wouldn't leave her alone. She knew she should probably talk to someone but she didn't want to. She was fine, Phil was fine and she was a superhero! Why should she be having nightmares? It didn't make sense to her.

"This is Nick Fury, you've got two minutes." Came over her speakers.

"I may have a cure for Arthur Parks. I need to test it on a sample of his DNA." There was a pause.

"I'm sending a hover jet Miss Stark. I suggest you get on it." There was a dial tone. Reilly sighed.

"Sure, but only because you asked nicely." She grumbled.

_Druin_

He was nervous. Thor had gone to ask for help from one of his mortal allies and left him alone in this strange Midgaurdian castle. It was vast and he wasn't sure he liked it. Because he was a warrior of Vanihime he spent most of his time either in their castle or out in the wilds of the realm seeking a quarry to relieve the boredom. Here he knew nothing about what was acceptable and what wasn't. He rounded a corner and heard the Lady Reilly.

"Sure, but only because you asked nicely." She sounded a bit annoyed. He peaked into the room and saw her for the first time without her armor. She was wearing clothes that he had never seen before. The top was fitted and cut lower than would have been seemly where he was from. The tiny ropes that held it on her shoulders were unheard of on Vanihime. She wore pants, which wasn't nearly as unusual but the large glowing circle in her chest set her apart instantly. She must have heard him for she spun in her chair and shot him a look that reminded him of her metal mask.

"Can I help you?" He stepped fully into the room and bowed slightly which seemed to surprise her.

"My apologies. I know not what I may be useful for here, yet I wish to make recompense for the damage I caused to your home." She looked him over thoughtfully.

"How strong are you?" The question threw him slightly but he answered honestly.

"Strong as two frost giants, so I have been told. May I inquire as to the purpose of your question?" She nodded.

"I'm going somewhere, it's a prison called the Vault. It holds some of the most dangerous tech criminals on this planet." He was shocked.

"What do you intend to accomplish there?" She pulled up an image of a man who lay on a bed of metal in a room of metal. He looked quite ill.

"He's dying, I can help." Druin was slightly confused.

"Is he not a villain?" She nodded.

"Then what reason have you to help him? He has hurt mortals and others yet you wish to cure him?" She looked up at him almost angry.

"What reason? How about because he's a person. Or maybe because it's my grandfather's fault he's like that in the first place. Maybe because I can!" She was up in his face now practically yelling at him.

"You may not be human but that doesn't mean you can just dismiss someone for what they've done. Screw the past, can't change it. But the future is something I can change. I can help so I'm going to. You wanna make up for breaking my house?" Druin nodded.

"Then help me get this stuff out to the front lawn." She indicated a large machine that Druin knew he couldn't comprehend. She picked up a large container that was coated in some kind of near clear substance.

"You get the converter and be careful it's fragile." He stared at her and she sighed.

"The big metal thing that is standing on that table. I'll come back in for the stabilizer." He lifted the metal contraption with one hand.

"What is this stabilizer you speak of?" She pointed at a much smaller piece of equipment that sat next to where the first one had been. He lifted it as well and followed her out of the fortress. A large bird like contraption soon landed in the grass and he assisted in loading her equipment on board it.

"May I accompany you? I wish to learn more about you and this need to help." She sighed and adjusted a purple bag that looked distinctly metallic and hung at her hip.

"Fine. But if you tell my brother where I'm going I'll kick your ass." He nodded and got into the metal bird. He had much to learn about the other side of him. He had long ago learned what it meant to be an elf; maybe it was time to learn how to be a mortal.


	6. Keeping Him Living

**Authors Note: Ok I may be getting cheesy here but I like where I'm headed. I'm using the Iron Man Armored Adventures version of the Laser's back story. Please review! I would like to know what everyone thinks and I'm going to do some time jumps here. Also the interactions here are biased a little on the ones I remember between IMAA Tony (AKA Teenager Tony) and Arthur Parks. I haven't seen any of the newer stuff so bare with me. I own nothing! Please review.**

6. Keep Him Living

Arthur Parks felt worse than ever. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him but he knew he didn't have long left. He was scared and he wanted someone to help him. But who would help him? He had only hurt people and been called useless his whole life. So he never expected the SHEILD agent Jim Wu, who was in charge of the vault to show up at his cell with good news.

"Laser?" He grunted.

"Looks like today's you're lucky day. Someone's come forward, she wants to help you. Not sure why but hey at least she volunteered." He sat up in the metal bed and saw a girl with rust colored hair and an arc reactor glowing in her chest. She was a few inches shorter than him but there was no mistaking it.

"Stark?" She shook her head.

"I'm Reilly, Arthur I think I can help. I've been studying your genetic code for a while now and I think I've found a way to get you back to normal." He stared at her.

"Why would I want to be normal? I have power I can do anything now." His head spun and he steadied himself on the bed.

"You're dying Arthur. Your molecules are ripping themselves apart; it's going to be slow and painful. It's going to hurt beyond anything you've ever imagined. I know what it's like to almost die, and I can help you avoid that. You want to cooperate or just give up?" He paused for a moment staring at her. Then he nodded.

"What do I have to do?" She smiled a little.

"I need a DNA sample. So I can test the process and make sure it works. If it does then I can help. If not I keep working till it does. I should warn you it'll be a long process. And it'll be a lot like getting off a drug. You're going to go through withdrawal as far as I can tell but I'll help you." He nodded and three armed SHEILD agents accompanied her into the cell. She took a small blood sample in a reinforced syringe and readings from the air in the cell. He watched her curiously fully aware of the guns trained on him. They wouldn't kill him but they would hurt like hell in this state.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked when she finished and was about to leave.

"Because my family did this to you and it's wrong that no one's helped you before. I'm not my father, I may be a lot like him but I admit my mistakes. And it's the right thing to do." With that she was gone and he was left waiting again. Could this teenager really help him? Were those her real reasons or did she want something from him? No one just helped him like that.

Druin turned as Reilly arrived back in the strange room. It was white and felt very clean. It was unnerving. She held a glass phial full of glowing liquid and a small machine. She breezed past him and put the pointy end of the phial into the clear-ish container. She attached it to the two machines he had brought in and crossed her fingers. His keen hearing was the only reason he picked up her whisper.

"Please let this work." She flipped a series of switches and turned round things on the front of the thing she had called a converter and rushed to the stabilizer. She was muttering under her breath. He wondered if she even knew.

"Oh come on give me this. Give me this one! I need this one. Comeon! Comeon! Please?" The machine made noises that unsettled Druin. It sounded like a dark wolf growling but Reilly seemed pleased.

"Yes! Yes, yes that's right. Just keep purring." She glanced at the glass like cylinder and grinned. It was glowing and sparking just a little. She twiddled with one of the round things on the converter and the sparking ceased.

To Reilly it seemed like a lifetime later but it was actually like five minutes, and finally the stabilizer beeped and the containment unit stopped glowing. The blood in the syringe was red and dull, not glowing and giving off energy. She bounced over to the containment unit and opened the reinforced glass and plastic container. Pulling on a glove, just in case, she grabbed the syringe and practically ran to the microscope. She dripped a few drops onto a slide and placed it under the lens. Then she jammed her eye to the other end. Her fingers were still crossed.

"Yes! Perfect! Well ok not exactly perfect, but not unstable. The level of energy in the blood seems to have leveled off. Good! Very good. Not a trace of tearing in the structure of the platelets either!" She removed the slide and ran it under the scanner.

"Levels are a bit higher than a normal humans but not dangerous to him anymore, which was the whole point of this after all. Now I want to wait a bit before I try it on him. I need to make sure there aren't any after effects and…" She paused mid turn looking at Druin.

"Oh, sorry forgot you were there. Have I been babbling this whole time?" He nodded.

"You have indeed been conversing seemingly with yourself. Yet you seem triumphant, have you discovered your remedy?" She nodded, placing the phial down on the counter.

"I hope so. I need to wait, just for a few more hours to see if anything happens. I don't want his levels to shoot back through the roof. So we may need to wait here for a bit." There was an awkward silence.

Several hours later Reilly was ready to start the Laser's treatment. By her math it would take at least four months to have him fully stabilized. She would need to give him the treatment at least once a week every week for that time. It was doable. She was escorted back to his cell.

"Alright Arthur. We're ready for you." She smiled.

Arthur sat inside a large glass and plastic shower. Well repurposed shower. He would be lying if he said he wasn't nervous. Reilly smiled at him. The boy with the pointy ears made Arthur nervous. He scowled at everything but seemed curious as well. His silver eyes were creeping Arthur out.

"Alright, we're going to start off at the lowest setting. Now this is going to bring your excess energy levels back down to what they used to be Arthur but it won't fully stabilize you. That's going to take time. I'm going to be coming back once a week every week for four months, sound like fun?" Arthur smiled weakly.

"Well at least I'll have one visitor." Reilly looked thoughtful.

"Do they have visiting hours here?" Arthur shrugged.

"Wouldn't know, don't have anyone who would bother to visit." Reilly stood in front of two machines in front of the shower.

"Ok, I'm going to start up the machine. Now this may hurt a bit but trust me it's better than the alternative." Arthur tensed and nodded. She flipped switches and turned knobs and the machine began to purr. Arthur felt his energy leaving him little by little. It flashed around the glass and plastic. Reilly turned a knob and smiled at him as the energy stopped sparking.

"Doing great Arthur." His skin was beginning to tingle. It was turning into pins and needles like when he sat too long in a hard desk chair and his foot would go to sleep. Of course that had been a long time ago. He wanted to distract himself from the feeling so he focused on the daughter of his worst enemy. She looked so young, too young to be this smart.

"How old are you?" She didn't glance up from the screen but looked confused by his question.

"Why?" He shrugged which hurt a little.

"Because you look a little young to be doing this." She grinned a little.

"Eighteen, well nineteen in like four days." He looked her over shocked. She glanced up at him.

"What?"

"You're a little young for stuff like this aren't you?" She shook her head a cocky grin that reminded him of her father lit up her face.

"Hey I graduated from MIT two years ago. Suma cume laude by the way." He laughed a little.

"What?" She asked going back to her screen.

"You're a high profile rich kid whose birthday is literally around the corner and you're here helping me instead of running around New York or wherever with your friends. You're confusing. You doing community service for taking daddy's car or something?" She leveled off the machine and the lights in the shower dimmed. Arthur had to admit he was feeling a lot better.

"Nope. Just wanted to help. Plus I didn't have anything to do and I enjoy solving other people's problems." She grinned and he knew she was joking about the last bit. She really did want to help him. He was escorted back to his cell and left to his own thoughts. She had helped him. He didn't feel like the edge of death anymore.

Reilly and Druin boarded the hover jet back to the mansion and sat silently. Reilly pulled out a small box and began fiddling with it. Druin didn't know it but it was her cell phone and had the plans for the mansion on it. She glanced up at him after a while.

"So this thing you have to do, it going to take long?" She asked and Druin looked away.

"In truth I do not know. It could take quite some time."

"You got anywhere to stay?" He shook his head, he hadn't really thought of that. She sighed.

"Well I guess you'll just have to stay at the mansion, after all someone's got to keep an eye on it until I can get that hole in the roof fixed." She leaned back in her seat as the hover jet zipped through the sky. Druin smiled.

"I am great full for you kindness." She glared over at him.

"I'm not a nice person, trust me. You're going to be helping around the house if you want to stay there. Plus it's only until you find something else or finish whatever it is you're here to do." Druin nodded. Mortals, it seemed, had many layers to their personalities. He would enjoy learning new things about them he decided.


	7. For The Twins Who Have Everything

**Authors Note: Ok yes I'm making a villain a semi main character, but he's more of a plot point. Please review! Jumping ahead a bit. Also yes Reilly isn't a mean person she's just not a people person. Also Hugs go to anyone who spots the Doctor Who reference I made in a previous chapter. J I OWN NOTHING! Oh but I am working out a cosplay for Reilly! So be on the look out! It's gonna take me a while… Also Google translates lack of Old Norse forced me to use Slovak (For Thor's gifts to the twins) instead, if anybody knows a Viking please ask him (or her) for the correct translation!**

7. For the Twins Who Have Everything

_Four days later…_

Peter stood outside Stark Tower with two packages. His aunt had insisted on re wrapping them. He hoped they would make the twins laugh. He hadn't been able to think of a serious gift so he had gotten them both something rather silly. He entered the Tower with much the same shaking in his knees that he had on the day of the interview.

He expected a party the size of his school prom, something with loud ear splitting music and flashing lights. People packed into the rafters and large amounts of possibly questionable punch, one of the guest's contributions as neither of the twins seemed to indulge in things like that. But he was shocked when he reached the shared residential floor. It was much less extravagant than he had expected. In fact it looked much like any apartment should. The living room was where the elevator came out and Pepper Stark greeted him with a smile. She had traded out her normal skirt suit and heels for a blue shirt, jeans and sneakers. It made her look much less intimidating.

"Hello Peter! Nice of you to come." He smiled at her and held out the two bags. One was pastel pink the other was powder blue.

"Sorry about the bags, my aunt May picked them." Pepper smiled and gestured to the coffee table, which was probably more expensive than Peter's entire house. But it was so casual he almost didn't notice. The room felt warm and there was a touch of everyone's personality here. The record player in the corner was vintage and being fiddled with by the blonde solder. He looked up and grinned at Peter.

"Follow me. The twins are in the kitchen, well Phil is. I think Reilly's still in her lab. Tony popped his head around the corner.

"Hey Pep?" She turned to him.

"Yes Tony?"

"Shouldn't Rei be up here?" Pepper nodded.

"I think she's in her lab with Druin. They're getting along surprisingly well considering how they met." Cap smiled and headed for the room Tony had just left; Peter thought it must be the kitchen. Tony frowned.

"JARVIS! Pull up the cameras from Reilly's lab." They came on the TV screen. Reilly sat on her swiveling chair and laughed while Druin attempted to work a twenty year old cell phone. Where she had dug that up from was anyone's guess but he seemed to be having trouble with the buttons. Tony laughed.

"Hey Thor!" The thunder god in question entered the room followed by a pretty woman with brown hair and deep eyes. She looked a little shy and stayed close to the blonde. A woman with darker hair followed her eating chips from a white bowl. With her mouth half full she pointed at the screen.

"Who's that?" Thor grinned.

"That Darcy is Druin Angorson." She paused in her snacking and looked confused.

"His dad's name is Anger? Wow guy must have some issues." She patted a holster on her side which held what looked to Peter like a tazer.

"Remind anyone of a while back when I tried to teach Thor how to type?" Tony grinned and Steve looked over his shoulder.

"Yes, it does. At least he doesn't wield storms when he's angry." Steve checked his watch and strolled into the kitchen.

"JARVIS call Reilly's lab please." Pepper asked and the AI system complied. The screen went back to a blank TV screen.

"Yes mom?" Came over JARVIS's speakers along with stifled giggles and a resounding, 'Curse this infernal mortal device to the depths of Niflehime!' More laughter followed that pronouncement. Darcy whispered to the brunette,

"What's Snifflehime?" Jane stifled a giggle of her own.

"Would you like to join us in the living room please?" There was a sound of something being smashed. Reilly practically cackled and Druin could be heard cursing in the back ground. 'Damndable mortal science!' A few minutes passed and Reilly pulled herself together.

"Sure mom. We're on our way." The intercom went silent after a few more seconds of giggling.

A few minutes later Reilly and Druin arrived together on the elevator, Reilly still giggling at Druin.

"Twould not seem so amusing were it you attempting to learn this infernal mortal device." He grouched and she laughed again. As she sat and he slunk over to one corner the elevator doors slid open once more and a tall black man in a white button up shirt and black pants smiled at the twins.

"Uncle Rhodey? What are you doing here?" Rhodey grinned and held up two boxes.

"Come on you really think I would miss my favorite niece and nephews birthday?" Phil smiled at him, grateful he had come. Tony hugged him, patting him on the back and grinning wide at his friend. Peter accepted the soda Pepper offered and everybody took their seats, save Cap who was still in the kitchen and Druin who chose to remain standing.

"Ok present time! Me first!" Tony said clapping his hands excitedly. He grabbed two packages from the pile on the table nearly knocking the whole thing over. The long purple tube was handed to Reilly and the smaller green square turned out to be for Phil. The twins grinned as Pepper rolled her eyes. They tore into their packages in unison. Reilly unrolled a set of blueprints and grinned.

"Stark Revidic Reversion Engine, Circa 1945?" Tony nodded.

"For your bike. According to your grandpa Howards notes it didn't work right, but I can't find the flaw. I'm guessing you can." She grinned wider and hugged him.

"Thanks dad." Phil popped open his box and pulled out a set of keys. He raised an eyebrow at his father. Unlike his sister who was partial to the flashiest of cars Phil had a few lower profile cars including a vintage mustang, green instead of blue like his sisters, and a pale orange porche.

"It's not a car. I figured since you can't fly, like your sister, you should have a way to keep up." Phil's eyes lit up like stars.

"A Quin-jet?!" He crushed his dad in a hug and Peter grinned. He was a bit worried about them seeing his presents as lame, but he kept his worries to himself.

"You're welcome Phil, and you can modify it all you want. It's fully flight capable and space ready but I don't know if you'll need that feature."

"Thanks dad!" Pepper smiled and took Tony's arm.

"Come on Tony; let someone else have a turn." Tony blushed a little and sat down on the couch pulling Pepper on top of him of him so she was sitting across his lap. She let out a surprised squeak and the twins made fake gagging noises to cover their giggling. Jane smiled at the pair and elbowed Thor gently.

"I shall take my turn now if that is acceptable." When no one objected he continued. "Here on Midgaurd mortals come of age at 21, however back home we reach maturity at age 19. So I wish to honor you both with the traditional gifts presented to Asgaurdians." Tony sat up a little.

"It's not that two headed goat thing, like when they turned 16, is it?" Thor shook his head, taking no notice of Darcy giggling in the background.

"Nay. Tis far more of an honor." He handed Reilly a pen knife. Engraved on the side of it were two words which Reilly meticulously sounded out.

"Vietor Rezacka?" Instantly the pen shifted and shimmered. Soon she no longer held a knife at all, but a scythe with a handle as long as she was tall.

"Whoa!" She laughed in surprise.

"That blades name means Wind Cutter. To all but those who mean you harm it will feel like no more than a mere breeze. It can only harm those who wish to harm you." He handed Phil a leather arm band. It looked a lot like an ancient version of the archer's guard Clint often wore. Phil carefully strapped it on, per Thor's instructions and read out the words etched into the leather.

"Pravda o azyl." The guard shifted and shimmered until, seconds later, Phil held a fully loaded crossbow.

"Sweet!" Thor smiled again.

"That weapons name means Truth Seeker. It never misses its target, and is never unready. However it possesses a unique power. When the bow is aimed but unfired speak the words Odproved' Pravda and your target must answer one question with the full truth." Phil grinned broadly and thanked Thor. Druin was amazed.

"These weapons were forged by the dwarves, newly forged."

"Tis true. I was owed a favor by their leader and could think of no better way to use it." The twins blushed and turned away. Rhodey cleared his throat, choosing to be next. As the twins picked up the identical boxes Rhodey held up his hands to pause them.

"Now I know you two don't like getting the same thing, or even really similar things, but this is special." They raised identical eyebrows at him and opened the boxes. In each box was an identical ring. Both were gold metal banded with a rounded piece of red metal set into it. In the center of that was a small piece of glass shaped like the Iron Man mask. Tony gaped.

"Rhodey is that made of what I think it's made of?" He nodded.

"I had an arm of the Mark II armor salvaged after your incident on the roof of the original reactor. These are made of a piece of your dad's first successful armor. I thought both of you might like to have it to remind both of you that to be a hero you have to go through a lot, but you gain a lot along the way." Phil grinned at him and Tony brushed a tear away from his face. Reilly hid her emotions behind a scoff and Tony laughed as she slid the ring on her pointer finger.

"Bit cheesy there Uncle Rhodey." He reached over and gave her a noggie. She swatted his hand away and glanced over at Peter still laughing a little. He knew his present was going to look stupid now, but it was too late to back out now. He pushed the pink and blue bags across the table looking down at his feet.

"They're kinda lame…" He whispered and Reilly grinned. Then she grabbed the pink bag and pulled out a pair of Spiderman socks. She glanced up at Peter and stifled a giggle.

"This is payback for the bug spray isn't it?" Peter grinned, shook his head, and motioned for her to continue. She pulled out a handful of tissue paper and looked into the bag again. She burst out laughing.

"That's payback for the bug spray." Peter laughed and Reilly nodded, unable to answer through her laughter. Phil, wanting in on the joke, reached into Reilly's bag and pulled the mystery object out of the bag. In doing so he revealed a plastic multicolored tool set in a child's tool belt. The room was silent for a moment then burst into tumultuous laughter.

"That is by far the most fun present I have ever gotten." Reilly managed after several more minutes of solid laughter. She wiped her eyes and sighed happily.

"Ok Phil, your turn." Peter grinned at him and explained as he began pulling out tissue paper.

"You're the organized one, so I figured you could use this." Phil pulled out a day planner. The cover was facing away from him toward Reilly and when she started to giggle he flipped it to face him. He too began to laugh at the sight of the Iron Man mask glaring up at him. He laughed and passed it to his dad who rolled his eyes and grinned.

Noticing something else in the bag he reached back in and came out with a package of Spiderman pencils. He laughed and showed them to his sister.

"Hey look they match my socks!" The room broke out into laughter once more. But their laughter was short lived as a familiar British voice made Druin jump.

'_Excuse the interruption Mr. Stark.'_

"Yes JARVIS?"

'_You instructed me to inform you when I located the woman you were searching for.' _ Pepper shot Tony a look, he shook his head.

"Not like that Pep. I was helping our pointy eared guest in finding some family, his mother specifically." Peter raised an eyebrow but Druin, who had been standing to one side looking awkward, stepped forward.

"JARVIS give me a print out of her picture and current address." A side table lit up momentarily and paper began to feed out between what looked like two drawers. Tony, who still had Pepper on his lap, tried to reach around Clint and Natasha, who were similarly arranged, but Rhodey stopped him before Natasha dislocated his shoulder. He handed it over to Druin whose hands only shook a little.

He saw an image of a pretty woman with blonde hair and bright eyes that shone like sun. She was smiling up at him from the page. They had the same nose, he noticed a bit stunned.

"So where on Midgaurd does thy mother reside young Druin?" Thor asked happy that she had been found so quickly. Druin squinted at the page and read out,

"Silver Chapel Cemetery, lot 275. White Lake, MO. What does that mean?" There was silence in the room for a moment. Pepper, always the most level headed by nature, spoke up first.

"I'm sorry Druin but that means your mother isn't with us anymore. I'm so sorry." Druin stared at her for a moment then crumpled the paper in one hand and dropped it.

"My thanks Lady Stark. Excuse me." Before anyone could make any move to stop him he quick stepped to the elevator and stepped inside. The doors snapped shut behind him with finality.

There was a moment more of silence before the door to the kitchen swung open and Captain America reentered the room balancing two full sheet cakes, one in either hand. One was covered in chocolate frosting, the other in vanilla. Written out across both was,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PHIL AND REILLY! And each had 19 candles that burned with an ironically cheerful light. He grinned then noticed the somber air in the room.

"What did I miss?"


End file.
